Children's Books

Clements, Gillian. The Picture History of Great Explorers.London: Frances Lincoln Children’s Books, 2004.

Day, Michael E. and Carol Whitmore. Berry Ripe Moon. Peaks Island, Maine: Tide Grass Press, 1977. Story of a young Penobscot boy in pre-contact times in Maine. Line drawing illustrations and too much text for independent reading by younger children, but could be read aloud.

Erdrich, Louise. The Birchbark House. New York: Hyperion Paperbacks for Children, 1999. Middle/High School chapter book about a Native American girl.

Favour, Edith. First Families: Woodland People of Maine and the Canadian Maritimes. State of Maine Department of Educational and Cultural Services, Division of Curriculum, 1975. A typescript format, with hand-drawn illustrations, contains lots of basic information about Native American life.

Gagnon, Nathalie and Donald Soctomah. Tihtiyas and Jean. Moncton, Canada: Bouton d’or Acadie, 2004. This story tells of the friendship between a young Passamaquoddy girl and a boy who is part of an early French settlement on an island near the mouth of the Schoodic River. The book is written in French, English, and Passamaquoddy. Young elementary ages, although older students will find the languages interesting. Not available through MaineCat. Available for purchase from the Abbe Museum or the publisher.

Gold, Susan Dudley. Indian Treaties. New York: Twenty-First Century Books, 1997. First two chapters address Maine and New England, including King Phillip’s War and the French and Indian Wars. Remainder of the book is general to the United States, explaining treaties, resettlement, and laws. Upper Elementary, MS.

Perron, Judith, Helen Sylliboy, and Allison Mitcham. A Little Boy Catches a Whale. Moncton, Canada: Bouton d’or Acadie, 2002. An adaptation in French, English, and Mi’kmaq of a Mi’kmaq fable published by Silas T. Rand in 1894. Young elementary ages, although older students will find the languages interesting. Not available through MaineCat. Available for purchase from the Abbe Museum or the publisher.

Perrow, Angeli. Many Hands: A Penobscot Indian Story. Camden, Maine: Down East Books, 2010. Set in the present day, this is a story about the art of making baskets that is handed down through generations.

Plourde, Lynn. The First Feud between the Mountain and the Sea. Camden, Maine: Down East Books, 2003. A Native American fable. Elementary age level.

Smith, Marion Jaques. On the Way North: A Mother Bear’s Troubled Trip. Freeport, Maine: Bond Wheelwright Company, 1967. Early Maine settlement and Native Americans, as told through the eyes of forest animals. This book is hand-written and may be too difficult for independent reading by students, but might be interesting for reading aloud to elementary age students.

Sockabasin, Allen. Thanks to the Animals. Gardiner, Maine: Tilbury House, 2005. A little Native American boy is cared for by wild animals in the forest. Has glossary of Passamaquoddy animal names. Early elementary age.

Wheeler, Bernelda. I Can’t Have Bannock but the Beaver Has a Dam. Winnipeg, Canada: Protage & Maine Press, 1993. This is a story of a contemporary Native American child and his request for his mother to make bannock. Bannock is traditional bread, and a recipe is included. Early elementary age.

Wheeler, Bernelda. Where Did You Get Your Moccasins? Winnipeg, Canada: Peguis Publishers, 1992. Contemporary Native American child explains to his classmates the process of making moccasins. Early elementary age.